A DUTIFUL SON

 

 

A few years ago I had a revelation, the circumstances of which are too personal to relate, in which I was led to understand that the Father loves His firstborn Son the most because of what He has done for the rest of His children. And it should be so because no one deserves it more. Since then I have been mindful of scriptural evidences of their supernal relationship. I saw it most obviously this year as I have studied the New Testament. 

 

I could quote many scriptures I have discovered where the Saviour glorified the Father, how He fulfilled all the Father commanded Him, and how He submitted to Him in all things but that is for all of us to discover for ourselves. In all these scriptural references, the message is the same: ‘in every way and every circumstance, in every situation, in every instance, in mind, body, and will, I am like the Father. If you know Me, you will know the Father, the Father and I are one’ (John 17:11). When Philip asked the Saviour to ‘show’ them the Father, Jesus replied: “…..he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, show us the Father?” (John 14:8,9). Even in looks, The Saviour was like Him, in fact, He was in the express image of His Father and not His Jewish mother (Collosians 1:12-15; Hebrews 1:1-3). Since the Father is not of any nationality of this earth, Jesus did not resemble the other men of His locality and time. He was like His Father, in every sense.

 

I always hear how the Saviour atoned for us because He loved us. That is true, however, I very rarely, if ever, hear anyone say that Christ atoned for humanity because of His love for the Father. When in the Grand Council of heaven the Father asked who was willing to execute His Plan of Salvation and Satan came forward threatening His glory, it was Jesus who stepped up to the plate to defend Him, who said to the Father, not only ‘thy will be done’ but also ‘glory be thine forever’ (Moses 4:2). Christ’s greatest motivation for His sacrifice was to bring glory to the Father because with every saved and exalted child, the Father’s glory increases forever (Moses 1:39).

 

I counted one year 147 references to the Father that the Saviour made during His visit to the Americas (3 Nephi 11-28). This speaks volumes to me of their love. This tells me that the Saviour would do everything and anything, even descend into the bottomless pit of human suffering for the one He loved the most….and this He did, valiantly, selflessly, devotedly…..to honour His Father. He is a dutiful Son who does ‘ALWAYS those things that please Him’ (John 8:29). I long to be a dutiful daughter……. 

 

I wish to gift you my heart

Eternal Father of mine;

I wish to glorify Thy name

Through endless moments of time.

I wish to worship you each day that I greet,

I wish to honour you with each breath that I breathe.

Then one day soon when I kneel at your throne

And bring you my deeds from my earthly home;

Accept them with mercy,

Consider them bliss,

And greet me joyfully

With an holy kiss.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Jesus the Anointed by Greg Collins)

For further understanding of the Father and the Son relationship, I refer you to Elder Holland’s conference talk of October 2003 entitled “The Grandeur of God”.  

THE SACRED ROAD TO EMMAUS

 

 

 

“Did not our hearts burn within us…….while he opened to us the scriptures?” was the heartfelt reflection of two believers who enjoyed the company of the resurrected Christ on the road to a village called Emmaus (Luke 24:32). 

 

The story goes that the Saviour joined two men, post resurrection, travelling to Emmaus, who were discussing the hottest topic of the day, His possible resurrection. The travellers told Him they ‘trusted’ the Galilean was the Messiah who would redeem Israel but were now sceptical because He had died (v 21). The Saviour was gracious even though He chided them for their unbelief (v 25). He then expounded to them all that was prophesied of Him ‘beginning at Moses and all the prophets’ (v27). His point was, ‘how is it that you know the scriptures but you don’t believe them’??? Indeed, many who were witnesses of His mortal mission did not believe Him because they did not understand the scriptures which testified of Him and what He would do as the Redeemer and Saviour of the world. 

 

Luke tells us that these disciples’ eyes were restrained from knowing Him (v 16a). Could it be that it was more important for Jesus that they believed on Him through the scriptures than through showing them His resurrected body? Did He not say to Thomas, 'blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed'? (John 20:29)

The lesson is this: the ‘burn’ comes from only one place: The Holy Ghost. The lesson is also this: the Saviour is in our midst STILL through the medium of The Holy Ghost. It is he who can open our eyes and our hearts so that we will not only believe but KNOW Christ. And where is the Christ most if not in the scriptures? If we study the scriptures without the presence of the Holy Ghost we are just building upon our knowledge and not our testimony. We need to feel ‘the burn’ to know. We all know what we must do to be worthy of his sacred companionship. As you travel on your personal road to Emmaus may the scriptures be burnt upon the tablets of your heart and may you know, and not just believe, that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. He is the Resurrection and the life. He is the Redeemer of your soul. He is the road…… 

 

 

I gave you My all:

My heart, my body, my soul.

I paved the way

And conquered death.

I am in your midst;

I am the only,

I am the last,

And I am the first.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Road to Emmaus by Liz Lemon Swindle)

THE LION OF JUDAH

 

 

One of the most endearing titles the Saviour has is ‘the Lion of Judah’. It denotes strength and power that balances the picture of the meek and sacrificial Lamb mentioned in Revelation 5:6. The two instances in the scriptures where He is spoken of as the lion are both relative to His protectiveness of the House of Israel (Isaiah 31:4; Hosea 11:9,10). In Hosea, the Saviour laments over Ephraim who has forsaken Him and exclaims, ‘mine heart is turned toward thee, and my mercies are extended to gather thee’ (v 8aJST). Hosea then says ‘He shall roar like a lion and the children shall tremble from the west’ (v10). We Ephraim, in the western hemisphere, have certainly trembled at the sound of His voice as we have been gathered to His earthly kingdom. 

 

On his final visit to the Temple, prior to His crucifixion, the Saviour once again proclaimed His divine Sonship.  For the last time He cried out loud that He who believes Him, believes Him who sent Him (John 12:44). I think of the lion of Judah in Him when I picture this scene. This was the last call to the Jewish nation to believe on Him as the Son of God but instead of belief, the people questioned, ‘who is this Son of Man’ that you say must be lifted up? (v34). 

 

Who is the Son of Man? He is the Son of Man of Holiness, who is God the Father, for Man of Holiness is His name (Moses 5:57); He is the light of the world and whosoever believes in Him will not abide in darkness (John 12:46); He is the Son of God under whose command He came to preach all righteousness and that salvation is through Him and of Him (v49); He is the Father’s servant who came to offer life everlasting to all who believe on His name (v50). He is the bread of life (John 6:35,41,48,51); He is the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5); He is the good shepherd (John 10:11,14); He is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25); He is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).......can you hear the roar???

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Lion of Judah by Greg Collins)

TRIUMPHANT CHRIST

 

 

Nothing touches my heart like the jubilation that greeted the Saviour when He arrived in the spirit world following His triumphant mortal mission. As the multitude of FAITHFUL spirits who ‘awaited the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death’ rejoiced and bowed before the Saviour, when He appeared, acknowledging Him as the Redeemer and Deliverer, their countenance shone and they sang praises unto His holy name (D&C 138:18,23,24).

 

Can you envisage this scene of joy and heartfelt gratitude? Can you imagine the sung praises  echoing throughout the heavens??? Was it not fitting that after the rejection, humiliation, derision and torture of the Garden and the cross at the hands of sinners, the Saviour would receive such a triumphant welcome from the faithful who rejoiced in His sacrifice, who believed in Him, who accepted Him, who loved Him??? Did He weep at such heartfelt acceptance and gratitude for what He had done and the honour that was paid to Him? 

 

The Saviour did not go to the unjust and the ungodly and to them His voice was not raised for they resided where the darkness reigned (vs 20,21,37) but following such heart rendering joy, the never ending merciful heart of the Saviour of the world would not forget that He atoned for them also and so to them He sent ‘the spirits of the prophets who had testified of Him in the flesh’ to proclaim His power of deliverance (vs 28,29,30,36). Amongst the wicked was the multitude of spirits who had perished in The Flood, over whom the Father wept when He showed them to Enoch (Moses 7:29-34) and to whom Noah preached for 120 years before the flood came (Genesis 6:3; Moses 8:17). Is this second chance not the merciful heart of God? Is this not love unfeigned and mercy unflawed? Is not this the heart of Jesus? This is the God we love, this is the God we worship, this is the Redeemer of our souls and the Saviour of our hearts and should we not sing praises to His holy name now and forever???

 

There is none like Thee,

My Saviour and my King

With power and glory in Thy wings!

How great Thy wisdom,

How great Thy mercy,

How great Thy love

That fills my joyful heart;

How very great Thou art!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus of Nazareth by John Zamudio)

THE WILL OF GOD

 

I am certain we are all in awe of the Saviour’s submission to God’s will in the face of unfathomable agony of the Garden. Even though He foresaw more agony yet to come, He was willing to see it to the end.

What is, in reality, God's will? If God's work and His glory, meaning His entire purpose, is to bring to pass ‘the immortality and eternal life’ of His children, then this becomes His will. Whereas immortality means resurrection for all, eternal life means a life with God the Father, forever, because Eternal is His name (D&C 19:10-12). It means to be exalted to the status of gods. In our pre-existence, we chose to accept this will of God. Our lives were planned and shown to us and we gave our consent. My dearest friend reminded me recently that even the Saviour was shown His life to which He consented but even He didn’t anticipate how incredibly hard it was going to be (Mark 14:33). And so it is for us. Now that we are here, we see the reality of it, and some of us are no longer on board with God’s will and choose not to follow through to the end.

When the Saviour said to the Father before the earth was formed, ‘Thy will be done and glory be Thine forever’ (Moses 4:2), He gave up His own will and He affirmed that choice throughout His mortal life. The same is asked of us. Our mortal lives are a continual round of trials and ups and downs and so it also becomes a continual round of acceptance of God’s will. It is a choice we are faced with over and over again. It is seldom a one off choice which sees us through every rough spot in our mortality.

That Christ wanted to atone for us due to His love for us cannot be disputed (John 15:13). However, as He descended into the bottomless pit of human agony in the Garden, it was His love and commitment to the Father that made Him accept the bitter cup (Matthew 26:39). Our telestial telescope does not give us a clear view of eternal life. It is our love for the Father which has the power to enable us to accept His will for our immortality and eternal life. When that love is strong enough then we can say as the Saviour said, “I always do those things which please Him” (John 8:29). That’s acceptance. That’s love. That’s life eternal.

I long for God’s acceptance

Of the paltry offerings of my heart;

Hardly seeing His approval

Through my earthly inept sight.

Yet crafted with the heaven’s pen,

Sealed and sent through heaven’s door,

Ever constant, ever present,

From loving God that I adore.

• CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: He Lifts Me Up by Danny Hahlbohm)

THE HOUR OF DEEPEST HUMILIATION

 

 

I have always been amazed at the humiliation that the Saviour must have suffered at the hands of His captors prior to the crucifixion. Mark records that after His arrest, Jesus was brought into the palace of the high priest (Mark 14:53,54) where a mockery of a trial was conducted condemning Him to death and where His accusers ‘began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him….and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands’ (v 65). Luke records that ‘the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him, and when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? And many other things blasphemously spake they against him’ (Luke 22:63-65). Imagine a God who creates worlds, controls the elements, performs miracles, and has the power to subdue all enemies under His feet, allowing and enduring such humiliation at the hands of pathetic, weak and sinful humans. My dearest friend once told me that ‘meekness is strength turned tender’. There is no doubt in my mind that many of the Saviour’s sufferings during His earthly ministry were tolerated due to His meekness and His consistent focus on His mission. 

 

That His love for the Father and for us was the primary motivation for His focus cannot be disputed. This, however,  made me understand  further Christ’s tolerance of the unjust treatment He received in His final hour. The humiliation in question came immediately following the Saviour’s agony in Gethsemane which  James Talmage called ‘the hour of His DEEPEST humiliation’ (Jesus the Christ, p 611). But what could be deeper and more humiliating than being spit upon, smitten and stripped naked to be crucified on the side of a road? I reflected and then I understood the humiliation a God in His pure and sinless state would have suffered when He took upon Himself my sins, your sins, our families’ sins, our nation’s sins, the world’s sins and indeed the sins  of all mankind from Adam to the end of the world. In fact, ‘in that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, “the prince of this world”, could inflict’ (Jesus the Christ, p 613). Imagine a man who would NEVER do anything wrong, to any degree, taking upon himself all the existent sins as if He had committed them Himself. The spiritual anguish He suffered was no doubt due to all corroding feelings associated with sin and evil such as guilt, shame, embarrassment, lack of esteem, self-hatred, fear of God’s wrath….and indeed, deepest humiliation. Following the humiliation of Gethsemane, would any other be worse???

 

Will the sinner for whom you suffered, 

Who rejected and reviled Thee

Weep in the end for Thy pain and Thy sorrow?

Will his heart understand

When he kneels before Thee

The debt he owes for the existence

Of his merciful tomorrow?

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Christ by David Beraru)

A TIME SUCH AS THIS

 

 

I studied the last week of the Saviour’s ministry reluctantly, not only because of His impending death but because I have savoured every morsel of fresh insight I received into Him this year. I saw the man, the Son, the God, and I did not want that to end. At times I felt that I was on the shores of Galilee in awe of the Galilean whom the people thronged for His mercy with hope to inhale His holiness into their souls. I reflected often on what it would have been like to be alive back then to see the rise of His fame and all the work He did that was given to Him of the Father (John 17:4) but I recoil at the memory of the cross. I know that I wept with the hosts of heaven when that time came. 

 

Neal A Maxwell defined the peopling of the earth in this way: “When we say God has a plan, He truly has a plan – not simply a grand scale, but for each of us as individuals, allocating some special talent to this dispensation and some to another. I regard God as the perfect personnel manager….after all, if you’ve got only one Abraham Lincoln, you’d better put him in that part in history when he’s most needed…..” (Deposition of a Disciple, p 46). A Jewish woman in exile, known as Esther, who married a king, is well known for her uncle’s prophetic advice to her that she was born for ‘such a time as this’, a time when she could prevent annihilation of all Jews in Persian empire (Esther 4:14).

 

We all know why Jesus came. His time had to be 2023 years ago when the conditions of the earth were perfect for His purpose. Because the Jewish iniquities, superstitions and hardness of heart were at its peak and because of it there was no other nation on earth that would crucify their God (2 N 10:3), the Meridian of Times was Christ’s time. The crescendo of Christ’s earthly purpose was suffering hence also the necessity of Roman Empire’s cross and the crucible of Calvary. 

 

I know I was not suited for the earthly experience in the Meridian of Times. I enjoy, with gratitude, having a voice in the world as a woman today and I draw strength from the promise the Saviour made through prophet Joel that in our day He will pour out His spirit upon all flesh and we women will prophesy and men shall dream dreams and see visions (Joel 2:28). It rends my heart with gratitude because I live for this. 

 

I was tempted my problems

To lay to Your charge;

I considered them acutely unfair.

Then you opened my heart

And showed me Your godly task,

Beyond human capacity to bear.

Knowing where you had gone

I would never have to go,

I sorrowed and sought

My arrogance to bury;

In humility I assent,

Your mortal burden,

So valiant, so holy,

I would never in this life

Have to carry.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Radiant Saviour by Greg Collins)